Jan. 29, 2026

Self-Control

Self-Control

What does it look like to set boundaries that help us live a life that truly pleases God? In today’s episode, Gaby Alessi Calatayud guides us through the essential topic of self-control as part of our ongoing faith journey. Together, we’ll explore why self-control is a vital fruit of the Spirit, how it protects us like strong city walls, and the practical ways we can lean on God’s strength to respond with grace instead of anger or bitterness. Whether it’s watching our words, holding back a me...

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What does it look like to set boundaries that help us live a life that truly pleases God?

In today’s episode, Gaby Alessi Calatayud guides us through the essential topic of self-control as part of our ongoing faith journey. Together, we’ll explore why self-control is a vital fruit of the Spirit, how it protects us like strong city walls, and the practical ways we can lean on God’s strength to respond with grace instead of anger or bitterness. Whether it’s watching our words, holding back a message until tomorrow, or guarding our hearts from frustration, we’ll discover small but powerful shifts that build a life transformed by Jesus.

Let’s come together to pray for wisdom and determination as we grow in self-control, inviting God to lead our hearts and our actions each new day. Join our community in devotion as we trust the Holy Spirit to empower us for all that lies ahead.

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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1454.

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Today's Devo is called Self Control. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Well, happy Thursday, everybody. Hope you are having a great day. My normal intro.

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Hope you're having a great day, great week, and God's opening doors. But that's truly my, my hope and my desire. All right, it's Thursday. We are continuing this thought process. You can call it a study, you can call it, you know, a five part series if you will. But we're going to look at adding to our faith self control. And I want to jump right into it because self control is something that I think all of us have to work on.

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There's a reason why it's one of the fruits of the spirit, because it's completely opposite of the fruit of the flesh. The acts of the flesh are not self control. In fact, it's just kind of releasing yourself to what you want to do and just succumbing to your feelings and succumbing to your urges and whatever your heart or mind desires to do. Self control comes from the spirit. And I love this. In Proverbs 25: 28, it says this like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self control. Just think about that image of a city, right? And, and back in, in the old days or in the Bible times, you would see these cities would have walls around them because the walls were their protection. The walls were there so enemies wouldn't get in or other armies wouldn't get in, or maybe even people wouldn't leave. It was just a boundary point. What it's telling us is this. A person who lacks self control lacks boundaries. They lack protection. They lack setting a line or drawing a line in the sand and saying, I won't cross that line.

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This is why adding self control to our faith is so important.

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Because as believers, we've been given the gift of salvation.

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We have to put boundaries up. We have to include self control because all of us have different tendencies. You know, some of us might have anger. Maybe anger is your tendency that when, when something happens in your life, it's, you just get angry and then you lose it. You see red and you lose it. Maybe it's hatred, maybe you never show it and you never tell the person. But in your heart you are growing bitterness and hate and frustration, and you hold on and you can't control yourself from being bitter or hating somebody or being mad. Maybe for you, you blame everybody.

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You point the finger and before you know it, you've. You've made enemies of everybody because you didn't put the boundary in place.

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Guys, if God had grace for us, if God gave us the gift of salvation, shouldn't we have it for the people around us? That's why it's so important as believers. Self control has to be one of the first things that we add to our faith. We have to do that. Why? Because it creates boundaries. We put up walls, and not bad walls, but good walls that hold our lives up to a standard that says, I want to live a life that pleases the Lord.

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You see, faith is not just a matter of obtaining salvation. It's a matter of life transformation.

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It's overcoming sin that it demonstrates.

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When we overcome sin, we demonstrate the power of Jesus in our life. You see, if we were to get saved and then all of our tendencies would continue, the people around us would go, well, did anything happen to you?

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Have you really changed? Have you really met Jesus?

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If we don't act out in the transformation, if we don't walk in the transformation and the power of Jesus Christ, we diminish the power and we take away the power of Jesus Christ. That's why it's so important for us to add this to our faith. You see, a person who lacks the disciplines of Christian faith has failed to understand one of the primary purposes of salvation. And this is what it is.

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One of the primary purposes of salvation is the freedom to live apart from the bondage of sin. Our salvation has given us a freedom where we can look at the bondage of sin. Maybe.

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Maybe you were wrapped up in it, or maybe some people around you are wrapped up in it. We can look at that bondage and separate ourselves from it. We can break apart from that. Self control helps us. It refrains us. It keeps us from getting there. So I want to encourage you today and I want to challenge you to work on self control. There's a couple of ways that you can do that. Number one, it could be from the words that you speak. I don't know about you, but I speak without thinking.

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It's something that I really have to work on. So today I'm going to work on that. I'm going to work on controlling myself when it comes to speaking. If I feel something negative coming on, I'm just not going to say anything. Maybe you need self control in texting or sending a message or emailing somebody. Maybe you're mad, you're frustrated, your boss ticked you off and you're ready to send a bad email to people or whatever that is. Well work on self control today. How about you don't send the email today? Why not hold the text for tomorrow and see how you feel tomorrow? Maybe the self control needs to happen in your heart. You need to control yourself from being bitter, control yourself from being angry, control yourself from being frustrated or confused about your life and you thought it would be one way but it's not. Maybe practice self control there or maybe it's with physical temptation. Maybe you're in a relationship and you're waiting on marriage and it gets very difficult and you don't know how to control yourself. Then you know what? Today's the day to practice self control and I love the picture that Proverbs paints for us. Put up boundaries, put up a wall over the places that you need self control. Give it to the Lord and watch how the Spirit of God will give you the strength to control yourself. Father, I thank you for your spirit.

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We thank you that your Holy Spirit can give us the gift of self control and can help us in these moments and and I pray over everybody that is listening today as they go about their day wherever they need to walk in self control and practice self control that you would give them the grace and the favor to do it. Lord, we need your help today and we thank you for it. In Jesus name Amen.

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So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong but your love for Jesus is stronger.